Design of the Built Environment: Ideas
'(13037873) BE1380 – Cityspace' Problems of a 19th Century City The 19th century had a big boom of industrial revolution in many cities w hich mainly resulted in people moving into the cities looking for work and a better life. This resulted in mass overcrowding and because these cities had stayed the same for centuries they were clustered with old streets, churches and mixed housing. To accommodate for the recent burst in people the cities had to start some urban development to prevent the spread of diseases, unrest etc. The cities started to build more housing in the city centre and more suburban housing for the more rich citizens. In America the rise of apartment buildings began to dominate the housing solution, and succeeded in doing so emerging in all major cities across America. Theorists and their proposals Auguste Perret (From 1874-1954): Auguste Perret was a French architect in Ixelles, Belgium. He was a specialist in reinforced concrete construction using only that throughout his whole career. His idea was to use different construction methods to express his view on modernism while defining the genre in his own way. He did go on to only use concrete in his buildings and achieved great'' ''success doing so. The result of his long career was influencing to many architects years later. Tony Garnier (1869-1948): Tony Garnier was another french architect and city planner, he is considered the forerunner of 20th century French architects. In 1901 after studying sociological and architectural problems of urban design he began to formulate a solution to the problems. His idea is basically the separation of spaces by function through zoning into several categories: industrial, civic, residential, health related, and entertainment. He called hi ideal city Une cité industrielle. Une cité industrielle was designed as a utopian form of living for 35,000 people and the future of a modern industrialised city. It was to be located between a mountain and a river to allow for hydroelectric power, to potentially power the whole city. The plan also allowed schools and vocational-type schools to be near the industries they were related to, so that people could be more easily educated. Even though it never got built the idea of functional separation was later taken up by the members of CIAM, and would ultimately influence the design of cities like Brasilia. This proves that his proposal was a success. Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928): Ebenezer Howard was never an architect but someone who jumped from a lot of jobs. He disliked the way modern cities were being developed, thought people should live in places that should combine the best aspects of both cities and towns, and wanted to do something to help. Thus he wrote a book called Garden Cities of To-morrow which described a utopian city in which people lived harmoniously together with nature. The book described the idea of a suburban town of limited size and surrounded by a permanent belt of agricultural land. It had all the aspects of a modern town (jobs, entertainment and money) and the aspects of the country environment (fresh air and low cost housing). Howard believed that such Garden Cities were the perfect blend of city and nature. The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city movement and resulted in several Garden Cities in Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century. The success of the book attracted enough funding to build Letchworth Garden City & Welwyn Garden City. The creation of Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City were influential for the development of New Towns. Antonio Sant'Elia (1888-1916): 'Antonio Sant'Elia was an Italian architect & known for being a key member of the Futurist movement in architecture. Evan though he lived a short life (28) he left behind many visionary designs that never got built. He was influenced by the industrial cities in the US and many architects including Otto Wagner, this began his series of drawings for a future new city. In August 1914 there was a manifesto titled Futurist Architecture published which some say might have been written by Sant'Elia. In it is stated that "''the decorative value of Futurist architecture depends solely on the use and original arrangement of raw or bare or violently colored materials". The vision was for a highly industrialised and mechanized city of the future which was not a mass of individual buildings but a multi-level, interconnected and integrated building. His extremely influential designs featured vast monolithic skyscrapers with terraces, bridges and aerial walkways. '''Le Corbusier (1887-1965): Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris otherwise known as Le Corbusier was primarily an architect and urban planner whose career spanned 50 years and became one of the pioneers of modern architecture. His life goal was to provide better living conditions for crowded cities. In 1922 his Immeubles Villas project was his first step into urbanism and trying to solve its many 20th century problems. The Immeubles Villas consisted of block shaped individual apartments on top of each other and all contained living room, bedroom, kitchen and garden terrace, all that you would need in an apartment. In the same year Le Corbusier presented his Ville Contemporaine, a plan for a city that could inhabit three million people. The housing would be apartments and be located towards the edges of the city, as you got closer into the centre the city there would be 18 sixty story cross shaped skyscrapers which would accommodate the offices. Perhaps the craziest part of this city is the central transportation hub which would on different levels include trains, buses, highway intersections and on the top and airport! Ebenezer Howard's book Garden Cities of To-morrow influenced Corbusier heavily when he moved into urbanism and planning his giant cities, he also agreed that there needed to be nature added to a a city and give the city more life.